Millennials Now Outnumber Baby Boomers: Census

Americans born between 1982 and 2000 are more diverse than any previous generation.

Millennials now outnumber baby boomers for the first time, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.

According to the latest Census estimates, there are now 83.1 million millennials in the United States, compared to 75.4 million baby boomers. Millennials are defined as those born between 1982 and 2000, and baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1964.

The report also noted that in 2014, American residents under age 5 became majority-minority for the first time, with 50.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group. Millennials are 44.2 percent minority. In contrast, just 21.7 percent of Americans 65 and older are minorities. The overall population is 37.9 percent minority.

Four states — Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Texas — as well as the District of Columbia are majority-minority, as are 364, or more than 11 percent, of the nation’s 3,142 counties. The populations of all major race and ethnic groups increased between July 1, 2013 and July 1, 2014, with Asians increasing the most, 3.2 percent, and non-Hispanic whites increasing the least, 0.5 percent. All race and ethnic groups saw more births than deaths, except for non-Hispanic whites.

Looking forward, the Census estimates that a majority of all Americans will belong to a race or ethnic minority group by 2044, driven largely by increases in the Hispanic and Asian populations. That same report also noted that the percentage of those born outside of the U.S. is also expected to increase, from 13.3 percent in 2014 to nearly one-in-five by 2060. The U.S. population will reach the 400-million mark in 2051, up from 319 million in 2014.

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